What to expect in London lettings for 2022
The focus on any property market tends to be on the capital. Often London leads the way in signs for the overall lettings market so there is encouraging news in the rental market for the year ahead as forecasts suggest London rents will increase by 5.5% in 2022, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
Return to work
In a city like London, people not coming into work was a huge factor in the rental market. With such unforeseen uncertainty brought by the Covid pandemic, the hope is we’re through the worst in the London market. We saw at the back-end of 2021 workers return to business pushing up tenant demand and rental values. The profile of workers in the city may shift slightly towards single households but the fact remains workers are returning in their droves boosting the market. The return of overseas students and workers is another factor to boost the rentals market. Those that took advantage of the stamp duty window to sell their property and wait it out in family size lets to source the right forever home and the market looks promising.
Types of rental property
With some workers from the city choosing to live in the suburbs, especially those with families we are likely to see an increase in demand for apartments. This trend is boosted by the fact that London is one of the only areas in the country where it’s cheaper to upsize a rental home. Current news suggests that tenants can upgrade from a one-bedroom property to two bedrooms for just 2% increase on the rent. With a range of properties in the Bloomsbury and Kings Cross area, we have a lot to offer tenants searching for the right rental.
Supply and demand
All of this combines to provide an opportunity for landlords thinking on a buy to let to capitalise on the coming demand. Whether it’s buying apartments or even family homes, there is a prime opportunity as house prices decrease to get in and meet the demand for rentals. At the higher end of the prime lettings market, Knight Frank reported a surge in the super prime lettings market with real opportunities to be had for landlords in short term rentals. With encouraging signs on rental income and varying portfolios, 2022 looks set to be promising for landlords.
What to expect from London rental prices
The end of furlough and a slow return to the office, have combined to push up the requirement for letting properties. This in turn means that there are encouraging signs for landlords on rental pricing. In addition to this there are predictions on a build to rent boom with some focus on single family and individual properties. The bigger players such as Lloyds and John Lewis and partners are diverse in portfolios from commercial property into this build to rent sector. It’s an encouraging signal to landlords that there is growth and strength in the sector of the market.